And I see I should have read the entire article as the man behind Language Log was quoted.

In some discourse communities, Liberman documents, "final rises" have actually been used by men and women to "assert dominance and control" over the conversation

I've noticed the gravely voice (I like their term "vocal fry") on NPR when they interviewed a younger person. It drove me bananas so much I wanted to 23 skidoo out of my horseless carriage. Perhaps it was extra annoying as I find any interview on NPR ultra annoying. Hey let's walk through the woods and I'll hold the mike down here by the leaves you're stepping on. Oh there's an owl I'll get a recording of it while you're talking.

That's interesting about the explanation for it being that they are trying to impersonate an elderly person to get some respect. I always took it to me that the person talking wants to imply that they don't really care about something that they have knowledge about, thus making themselves seem even smarter.